Police: Woman stole pills during Bar Harbor home tour

BAR HARBOR, Maine — A local woman is facing charges for allegedly stealing prescription drugs from a local house while a real estate agent was showing her the property, according to police.

Erin McCarthy, 34, is accused of removing 15 pills from a prescription pill bottle in the home, which is located downtown near the hospital, local police Officer Chris Wharff said Monday. The incident occurred Feb. 23 while a real estate agent was showing the house to McCarthy.

“She dumped some out of a bottle of Percocet,” Wharff said.

Wharff said the real estate agent suspected McCarthy had taken something from the home and called police after the tour was over and she and McCarthy had parted company. Wharff said that 10 minutes later, around 4:30 p.m., he found McCarthy walking downtown on Kennebec Street with the pills in her possession.

“She basically confessed to everything at that point,” the officer said. “Her plan, I believe, was to look at several houses.”

Wharff said he did not know if McCarthy simply acted impulsively in allegedly stealing the pills or if she set up the appointment with the goal of finding and stealing medication from one or more homes. McCarthy was warned not to return to the house that is for sale, according to police.

Wharff said he arrested McCarthy and took her to Hancock County Jail in Ellsworth. The charge of stealing drugs is a Class C felony in Maine, Wharff said, and carries a possible sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

McCarthy also was summoned on a misdemeanor charge of unlawful possession of Schedule Z drugs, he said, for allegedly having nonaddictive antibiotic pills that had been prescribed to someone else.

Wharff said he’s never been involved with a case in which someone allegedly stole prescription drugs while being shown a home for sale.

“It’s a first time for me,” he said. “It’s pretty unusual.”

According to staff at the Hancock County Jail in Ellsworth, McCarthy was released from the jail the night of her arrest on $2,500 unsecured bail.